


Nothing but trouble

by uvonovae



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe, Band Fic, F/F, pop punk - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-04
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-03-10 13:11:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3291515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uvonovae/pseuds/uvonovae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Asami stumbles headfirst into the world of late nights, cheap beers and frayed amp cords.  As displaced as she might feel sometimes, she can't help but want to stick around.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The party scene

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a night of drinking alone and early 2000s pop punk nostalgia

The last song came to an unceremoniously screeching halt and the crowd screamed again, lurching forward, pulling Asami along with it. 

She’d more or less given up trying to make her way to the back of the room a half hour or so ago when the last band ended their set and Zhu Li completely ditched her to move to the front row (from what Asami could see she was having a great time, so good for her she guessed).

As the band screamed their goodbyes over the crowd she checked her watch once again and saw it wasn’t even eleven yet, and from what she remembered from her ticket (she’d lost it in the fray almost immediately) the show ended sometime after midnight.

Groaning internally, she attempted to move back one last time before accepting that it just wasn’t going to happen.  Just thinking about waking up for class the next day was enough to make her want to grind her teeth to dust – she’d only gone to the concert in the first place because Zhu Li’s roommate had bailed last minute and she didn’t want to go alone.

Asami figured why not be a good friend and go along; it was free after all, and it wasn’t like she had any other plans beyond reading ahead for classes.

Not even twenty minutes into the show she regretted it _badly_ though.  She had no idea who any of these bands were (honestly it really wasn’t her kind of music in the first place) and the crowd was an utter mess; she’d been to plenty of concerts before but the concept of personal space was nonexistent here.

Zhu Li had let her know it was “a different kind of atmosphere” at this venue but Asami was pretty surprised when they’d arrived.  It didn’t really seem like the crowd Zhu Li would associate with.  She was even dressed differently than her usual blouse-and-pressed-skirt, which was also a bit of a surprise.

Not that Asami thought she looked bad, she just never thought she’d ever see Zhu Li in skinny jeans and a tattered t-shirt.

It made her feel overdressed and out of place in her peplum dress and cardigan… she really wished Zhu Li would’ve said something about that when she picked her up.

All the incessant shoving and grabbing and screaming was the worst towards the stage, where Zhu Li had of course headed for immediately upon entering the venue.

Asami had let Zhu Li push ahead alone– heading into the eye of the storm didn’t really appeal to her – but was starting to regret that too.  If she was going to get jostled every which way she might as well do it next to her friend.

Steeling herself, she managed to claw and elbow herself to the front row next to Zhu Li, who didn’t notice her at all.

“Zhu Li!  _Zhu Li!_   How many more bands are playing tonight?  We have class at nine tomorrow!”

Zhu Li grinned at her and said something she couldn’t hear at all – the crowd was just so _loud,_ even in between sets, that it was near impossible to hear anything without yelling.

Right as Asami began to yell her question one more time the MC stepped out and announced their next band, The Fire Ferrets, and Zhu Li cupped her hands and screamed back in response.

“Hey!  Hey!”

Nudging Asami with her elbow, Zhu Li motioned excitedly to her T-shirt which was emblazoned with a lo-res picture of a red panda with…rather poorly photoshopped flames around it.

“I saw these guys a few weeks ago at the Rock Bottom Grill, remember?”

Asami didn’t remember, at all, but forced a smile and nodded all the same.  Maybe she could convince Zhu Li to leave after this set (she really didn’t want to be a wet blanket but they had class at _nine_ ).

The lights dimmed once more and Asami gripped the front of the stage to steady herself as the crowd worked itself up again and the band stepped out onto the stage.

Asami was a bit surprised – the lead singer was a girl.  It was dark still but standing where she was in the front row it was easy to tell.  None of the other lead singers that night had been girls…actually she hadn’t seen _any_ women onstage that night; it was all male performers so far.

The girl adjusted her guitar, turned to her bandmates and gave them some kind of signal, and it all happened instantly after that.

The lights flashed back on, brighter than Asami remembered from before, and they started to play; fiery, lighthearted guitar chords that seemed almost mischievous.

_Make a wish on our sorry little hearts_

_Have a smoke, pour a drink, steal a kiss in the dark_

_Fingernails on my skin like the teeth of a shark_

_I’m intoxicated by the lie_

She was captivating. 

And her voice was beautiful – feminine yet stern and aggressive.  Suddenly Asami was rather pleased with her decision to move up to the stage.

The energy of this band was so different – whereas the other two bands before were loud and harsh, the Fire Ferrets (if she was remembering the name correctly) were spunky and playful.

Again, this wasn’t the kind of music she’d listen to on her own but she had to admit she felt herself getting swept up in the energy of the band, and the crowd throwing it right back up to them.

It was a small venue but it was absolutely pusling.

_In the chill of your stare I am painfully locked_

_Like a deer in the lights of an oncoming bus_

_For the thrill of your touch I will shamefully lust_

_As you tell me we’re nothing but trouble_

There was an electrifying chill running through Asami as she watched this girl perform.  She was so endearing to watch; she had such an energy and confidence about her that was hard to turn away from.

Asami watched her move across the stage, playing back to back with the other guitarist, pumping her fist and grinning cockily down at the crowd.

Before she knew it Asami was yelling and jumping right alongside Zhu Li (though to a much less passionate degree, of course) for the remainder of the show, marveling at this girl and her band.

The time flew by - after what had seemed mere minutes their set was up, and Asami was left in their wake, still wanting more.  It had been the first time she’d enjoyed herself all night (she had even managed to push back the thoughts of how tired she was going to be the next day) and she didn’t want it to end as soon as it did.

“Thank you!  Thank you Seattle!  We’re the Fire Ferrets!  Buy our CD please!” their drummer yelled out to the crowd before tossing his sticks, one of which Zhu Li managed to jump up and grab.

The second guitarist left without saying anything, but the drummer and lead singer lingered for a moment, waving at the crowd.

“Is this band popular?” Asami asked Zhu Li, noting the general atmosphere and response of the crowd.  She’d never even heard of the Fire Ferrets before.

“For a local band, yeah.  Look, I got his stick!”

Before Asami could respond, the lead singer crouched down in front of them, smiling.

“Hey.  Nice shirt” she said, pointing to Zhu Li, who simply grinned and nodded in agreement, clutching the drumstick as if it might slip out of her hands.

“I’m Korra.  What’s your name?” she asked, turning to Asami.  She could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks and sincerely hoped it wasn’t as noticeable as she felt it was.

“Me?  Um, I’m, I’m Asami –“

“Hey!  Time to go, move off the stage!” the MC snapped at Korra, nudging her slightly with his foot.

“Hold on, I’m busy.”

“No, _leave!_   Christ, there’s another band up!  You don’t own the stage!”

“Okay, _jeez_.  Here, Asami” Korra said, digging in her pants pocket, “take this.”

Asami held her hand out and took the guitar pick Korra passed her with a grin.  She was aware, _painfully_ aware of the crowd watching them, and the rather poisonous glare of the MC.

Her ears were ringing with confusion and adrenaline as Korra stood and sauntered offstage, looking back at her again before walking out of sight.  She couldn’t believe it.

She noticed her, out of everyone else in the crowd.

As the MC announced the next and final band, the Wolfbats, Zhu Li grabbed Asami by the arm and started clawing through the crowd towards the exit.

Asami’s head was still spinning, she didn’t bother to ask Zhu Li why she wanted to leave before the end of the show.  She was so elated she wouldn’t have even _minded_ staying for the rest of the show.

Once they managed to worm their way out of the crowd and outside the venue, Zhu Li turned to Asami with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.

“Okay, what…was that about?  She gave you her pick?  Let me see!”

Asami hastily handed it over for inspection, laughing a bit and running her fingers through her hair.

“Oh my god it has her phone number on it!  She gave you her number!”

 _“What?”_  

Asami snatched the pick back and could see that yes, there was a phone number written in sharpie on the pick.

Now she _really_ couldn’t believe it.

“Why…why would she give me her number?”

“First of all – who cares, just call her, and second…Asami really?  You don’t know why she’d give you her number?  Why does anyone do that ever?  You’re a grad student, use your head.”

As they headed back to Zhu Li’s car Asami turned the pick over in her hands, staring at the number written on it as if she were decoding some secret message.  Nothing like that had ever happened to her before, and it was honestly kind of cool.  She really didn’t think she’d enjoy anything about the concert and yet there she was, still giddy from it all.

“…Wait, did she think I’m a lesbian?  Not that I’m offended or anything, it’s just…it seems kinda bold just to give a random girl at a show your phone number if you don’t know if she’s into women.”

“It wouldn’t be a big assumption to make after the way you were staring at her the whole time” Zhu Li said matter-of-factly as they climbed into her car.

It was a fair point, Asami guessed.  She wasn’t a lesbian though; she just…well honestly it was hard not to be swept up by her – by Korra.  It had nothing to do with romance, she was just a really cool person.

Even as she was thinking this though, she had to admit she was a bit attracted to her.

“Oh hey cute, there’s little smiling frogs carved in this” Zhu Li noted, showing Asami the drumstick she’d acquired.  “Oh my God that is _adorable_.”

“That’s cute yes, but what should I do?  Do I call her now?”

“God no, that’s just desperate.  Call in a few days, make it seem like you don’t really care.”

“…Really?”

Zhu Li shrugged and started the car, tossing the drumstick unceremoniously in the backseat.

“Honestly I don’t know.  Up and coming rock stars don’t go around giving me their phone numbers.  Call her tomorrow or whatever.  You lucky dog.”

Asami pocketed the pick, thinking there wasn’t really much point in calling her at all.  What would they talk about?  She didn’t think she had much in common with the kind of girl who has the confidence to stand up and sing her heart out in front of an audience of strangers.

Still though, as they drove off towards Asami’s house, she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to see Korra again, onstage or off.

Not that it was going to happen, but it was fun to think about.


	2. Here's your letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami needs a bit of an emotional push to work up the nerve to give Korra a call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When drafting this fic I had mixed feelings about how to portray Hiroshi and Asami's relationship but I'm satisfied w/ what I came to.  
> Also I...still need a beta reader...send help...

It was almost a week before Asami actually made the call.

The morning after the concert she was a little too bitter about her lack of sleep before a full eight hour day of class to even think about calling, despite the good time she had. 

There were a few times when she came close to calling but that never panned out.  Despite whatever Korra saw in her to make her interested enough to hand out her number, Asami was a bit…intimidated by the thought of talking to her.

Even though she thought that however, it didn’t stop her from keeping the pick and occasionally staring at the seven digits on its front.  It was hard to admit it wasn’t on her mind whenever she wasn’t doing her school work (which, thankfully, was often).

But no matter how much curiosity overcame her, she knew she’d probably end up making a fool of herself by saying something uncool in front of Korra, and she didn’t really want to withstand that type of embarrassment.

The tipping point was Friday afternoon as she waited outside her father’s office for him to be ready to head home, as she did every day after class.

He was late coming out (which rarely ever happened) but she knew better than to go in and disturb him as he was most likely swamped with work.  She’d wait and review her research materials while she waited; it would give her a bit of a head start before she made it home.

At the forty minute mark she was getting rather sick of waiting (even if he was busy he could at least have the courtesy to let her know so she could go on ahead without him) and decided to knock on his door.

No response, so she headed in and was greeted by the sight of her father’s back turned to her, arguing quietly on the phone.

“ _No_ for the last time, we are _not discussing this_ any further, you’ve been – just a moment –“

Turning in his chair, he faced Asami with a rather irritated expression.

“Asami?  What are you still doing here, your class was out an hour ago.”

“I was waiting for you, you said you didn’t want me to interrupt you before so –“

“You’ll have to go ahead without me today, I’m going to be busy for a while.”

Without bothering for her response he got back to whoever he was speaking with, telling them to wait just a moment before putting them on hold.

“You know Asami I’ve been meaning to speak to you about this for a while now…you know you don’t need to wait for me to go home with you every day, right?  You’re grown now, you don’t need your father to escort you everywhere anymore.  I have a lot on my plate and I can’t drop it all for you.”

“What?  No I – the only reason I was waiting was because you said –“

“Never mind, Asami, just head home without me.  I’m tied up with work.  I’m surprised you don’t have any plans of your own, at your age.  I’ll see you at home, alright?”

Again, he turned away from her and resumed his call, gesturing slightly for her to leave.

Blood was pounding in her ears as she left his office without saying a word, teeth clenched tightly in an effort to reign in her anger and embarrassment.  His dismissive attitude in and of itself wasn’t anything new to comment on; her father could be tight-lipped and severe at times, especially when he was working, and she was more or less used to it by now.

What stung was the fact that he would underhandedly belittle her and treat her like a child for waiting for him when it was in fact _his_ decision for the past twelve years of her life that she not be able to step out of his sight for too long, much less travel to and from school alone.

The last time she’d left school without waiting for him to pick her up he’d made it very clear to her she wasn’t to do it again, under any circumstances, without his permission.  How could he have changed his mind without saying anything in the span of only a school year?

_I’m surprised you don’t have plans of your own, at your age…_

She stepped though the hallway out to the back of the engineering department and leaned against the wall, breathing slowly and fighting the urge to scream in frustration. 

She didn’t have a car and she didn’t know the bus schedule, much less what stop to even go to, as she’d never ridden it before.  Just how exactly was he expecting her to get home?

After closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to steady herself she pulled her phone out of her pocket with shaking hands.  She knew Zhu Li was her only option outside of a cab, and she had no intention of spending what cash she had on her for that.

Thankfully Zhu Li picked up quickly as usual, and agreed to pick her up after Asami explained the situation.

“Your father’s letting you go home alone?  Didn’t he have a meltdown last year when I took you home without him?”

“Yeah, well, he’s busy enough now to have forgotten his golden rule.  Can you meet me at the research center?  Not to be a priss but I really don’t feel like walking down to the welcome center right now.”

“No problem, Asami.  I’m actually still pretty close to school so it shouldn’t be too long, I was supposed to meet Varrick here –“

“Uuuugh…”

“- I know, I know.  He’s late and hasn’t even bothered to call me so I don’t feel too bad ditching.  Give me like twenty minutes, alright?”

“Alright.  See you soon.”

Pocketing her phone, Asami walked around to the front of the department (she was too ribbed at her father to even consider passing by his office) and waited for Zhu Li.  About fifteen minutes later, just before she arrived, Asami pulled her clutch out of her backpack, looking for her copy of the house key when Korra’s pick fell out and landed at her feet.

It surprised her a bit – she didn’t remember putting it there but given the fact that she wanted to keep it secret from her father it made sense.

As she picked it up and looked over Korra’s number once more a defiant feeling rose in her to match her anger.

_I’m surprised you don’t have any plans of your own at your age…_

Before she could come to her senses she pulled her phone out and dialed the number, heart beating like a rabbit stuck in a cage.

_You’re grown, you don’t need your father to escort you everywhere…_

The phone rang for what seemed like hours as her palms started to sweat and she eyed the building behind her nervously as if her father would somehow magically appear and demand to know what she was doing.

Every ring that went by chipped at her confidence and she began to think that maybe she’d made a mistake, maybe she’d let her emotions get the better of her and she was making a bad decision.

“Yeah?  Hello?”

Hearing Korra’s voice over the phone was a bit startling (not to mention that greeting…) and her voice caught in her throat before she could speak.

“ _Hello?_ ”

“It’s me – it’s Asami” she stammered, groaning internally and covering her face with her hand.  Suddenly it hit her that Korra probably didn’t even remember her; after all they’d only spoken a few words to each other and that was almost a week ago.

_Calm down, Asami._

“Oh hey.  Playing it cool, huh?  I thought you weren’t gonna call me.”

Mingled relief and excitement poured over her instantly; Korra did remember her, and she was waiting for her to call.

“Well I’ve been busy, with school, and I don’t really have free time on the weekdays, so…yeah.”

“School?” Korra asked, a slight edge to her voice.

“How old are you?  Please tell me you’re not in high school.”

Asami couldn’t help but giggle at Korra’s concern.  She’d never been mistaken for a high school student before.

“No, no, I’m a grad student.  I’m twenty-two.”

“Oh thank God.  I was about to tell you to lose my number.  So what’s up?  You have plans tonight?  Some friends and I are going out to eat in a bit.  You should come.”

It sounded fun, it sounded like just what she needed to get her thoughts away from her father, but…the thought was also nerve wracking.  Not that she was socially incompetent or anything, but going out with not only Korra but her friends seemed overwhelming.

Just then she caught sight of Zhu Li pulling up to the curb, smiling and waving for her to get in the car.

“Um, hey, do you mind if I bring a friend?  She was with me at the concert, she had that uh, shirt you liked.”

“Yeah sure.  Do you know where The Hub is?”

“In Tacoma?”

“Yup.”

“I know the general area.  I have GPS, I should be able to make it there no problem.”

Asami was grinning and her heart was pumping double time.  She couldn’t believe it was this easy. 

“Ok cool.  You wanna meet up there at six?”

“Yeah.  Yeah, that works.”

Zhu Li was leaning out of her seat, staring at Asami quizzically.  Asami didn’t think she’d have any issue with going once she explained (or at least she hoped she wouldn’t).

“Nice.  See you then.”

Hanging up, Asami quickly grabbed her backpack and headed to the car, completely unable to withhold her grin.

She was glad she called, she was _so_ glad.  If she hadn’t found that pick in her clutch she probably would’ve just gone straight home and wallowed in her room for a few hours before her father came back home and pretended as if nothing had happened.

“Hey what’s up?  Who was that, you look way happier than I thought you would” Zhu Li remarked once Asami got in the car and set her backpack in the back seat.

“Did your father call and admit he’s being a roach?”

Still smiling, Asami buckled up and turned to Zhu Li asking if she had any plans for the night.

“I did.  But Varrick still hasn’t called me so…I don’t know, I might catch a movie or something.  Why?”

“I called Korra and she wants to go out to dinner – with some of her friends.  Please come with me, Zhu, I really don’t want to go alone.”

As it turned out Asami’s earlier suspicion of Zhu Li being on board with the plan was completely correct – she reacted with more vigor than Asami herself once she heard the plan.

“Holy crap!  Going out to dinner with the freakkin’ Fire Ferrets, holy crap!  Yeah I want to go, are you kidding?  Oh my God I have to get them to sign my CD!  Do you think they’d sign that drum stick too?  When is this, where are we going?”

Asami relayed the plans to Zhu Li, who put The Hub in her GPS and checked her gas tank.

“Wait we’re going straight there?  Shouldn’t we go home and change?”

“Asami it’s like forty minutes away, by the time we get there it’ll be right at six.  Unless you want to go home and agonize over what to wear and show up thirty minutes late to your date.”

“Okay first it’s not a date” Asami retorted quickly, choosing to ignore Zhu Li’s prolonged eye roll, “and I mean…the way I’m dressed now…I won’t fit in.”

“You’re fine, you look classy.  Going to dinner is different than a concert, and we’re pretty much dressed the same so if you think you won’t fit in you’re trash talking me too.”

Asami pursed her lips and checked out her reflection in the sun visor.

She was wearing an olive green sleeveless blouse with black slacks and pumps, which she thought was definitely better suited for looking professional at school rather than going to dinner with the coolest person she’d met in forever.

And her eyeliner was smudged a bit in places from earlier when she’d been touching her face…her hair could use a brush through too.

“I hope you’re checking yourself out and thinking how good you look rather than criticizing yourself.  You look great, just like always.”

“My eyeliner is a mess.  I don’t have any with me, I left it at home.”

“You know you’re awfully worried about your appearance for someone not going on a date.”

“Zhu Li…”

“Alright, alright.  I should have some in the glove compartment, I won’t let you walk around not looking as good as you possibly can.  Relax Asami, we’re going to have some fun, alright?”

Zhu Li put her car in reverse, reiterating how great things were going to go.  “I still can’t believe this, this is so awesome…oh hey, turn the stereo on, I have their CD in the changer.”

Asami turned the radio on (and the volume down) before she dug around in the glove department for some touch up eyeliner.

_Pull the trigger without thinking_

_There’s only one way down this road_

_It was like a time bomb set into motion_

_We knew that we were desperate to explode_

_And if I have to pull you out of the wreckage_

_You know I’m never gonna let you go_

Running her fingers through her hair, Asami gave herself an encouraging smile in the mirror as Zhu Li drove away from the school, away from her father, and towards something she was ready to be a part of.


End file.
